Immovable
by Nokomiss
Summary: A post-Day of Reckoning story from the POV of Fred Dukes, the Blob. *Finally updated, now AU* Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Immovable  
  
By Persephone  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men Evolution. Thank you.  
  
Author's notes: Hello, all! Well, this little fic is my first attempt at a serious fic in the X-Evo universe. It's from the viewpoint of one Frederick J Dukes, a character who is ignored way too much in my opinion. So, please, tell me what you think about my characterization, I'd really appreciate it. On with the story....  
  
  
  
All my life I've been expendable. I don't know why I thought that would change when I joined the Brotherhood. When I was a little kid, my mom treated me good, the same as my brother. Of course, back then, I was a normal kid, just a little chubby, with perfectly normal eating habits. It was just my mom and brother and me, because my dad took off with a Hooters girl from El Paso when I was three. My mom was more hurt by the loss of income from my dad's job as an engineer than the fact that she had been abandoned by her husband, so I never had to really deal with bitterness from her. No, mostly it was the lack of money that caused strife in our small family.   
  
It was a relatively happy childhood, no real complaints from me. Then, when I turned eleven, I started to gain weight, and I just couldn't seem to ever get full, no matter how much I ate. My mom couldn't afford the food I was eating, and finally, when I was fifteen, she kicked me out. I guess she felt happy with the way her other son was turning out, and didn't have any real need for me.   
  
I wandered around for a while, then settled at the monster truck rally. It was fun, I've always enjoyed them, and it was there, while working on a truck that I found out my true mutant power. A tire had flown off a car that was passing and headed straight toward me. I tried to move, but I'm not exactly the fastest mover in the world, and the tire smashed into my stomach. Imagine my surprise when not only did it not hurt me, but it didn't even knock me backwards. Man, that tire had to have been doing thirty when it hit me.   
  
I did some experimentation with it, and found that nothing could move me. It was great. All the other guys at the rally thought it was awesome, then finally, I got put in the show. I didn't pick the name the Blob. No, I have a guy named Ratt to thank for that. He was a big horror movie fan, especially the old black and white ones, and he was also in charge of making the signs to advertise the rally, so I ended up as the Blob.  
  
Then Mystique came to me, and I joined the Brotherhood. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. I know that right now, locked up by Trask, it doesn't seem too smart, but it gave me a real home again. The guys treated me good, you know. Sure, they made fun of my weight and eating habits, but for the first time since I was eleven, it was really just friendly joking, not spiteful and cruel. They make fun of me the same way they make fun of Todd for being stinky and slimy, Lance for going all goo-goo over Kitty, Pietro for thinking he's a god, and when Rogue was with us, her for being anti-social. It was like a real family.  
  
The X-Geeks, on the other hand, are cruel. In school, they make fun of me, and taunt me on the battlefield, plus, the whole incident with Jean Grey...  
  
That mind-witch is really one of the most ruthless, horrible people I've ever met. First, she acts all nice to me, and I think she's going to be my friend. So I go with her when she invites me out. The next thing I know, she's got my mind locked, and I'm tying her up like I'm some kind of freak. She took over my mind, made it look like I kidnapped her, all because she wanted to make Scotty-boy jealous. Now all the X-Geeks think I'm some kind of desperate date-rapist. I'm on the "bad" side, and I can't even imagine doing something like that for such a petty reason. To think, they think they're going to save the world.  
  
God, it's dark in here. I should probably be trying to think of some way to get out, but then again, I'm not really known for my thinking skills. All I'm known for is being fat. And eating, can't forget that. Of course, in here, there isn't much to eat. Two meals a day is all they feed us.   
  
Yes, us. I can hear the others in here, moving around, talking quietly, trying to plan their heroic and miraculous escape. They don't have a chance, but I don't tell them that. Better to let them rot in hope than without. The others are all X-Geeks, in name, at least.   
  
There's Logan, the nicer, smaller version of Sabretooth. I'm not sure that he'd appreciate that comparison, considering they're lifelong enemies, but it's the truth. Somewhere along the line, Logan got tamed, and that's why he's in this hole and Sabretooth isn't. Sabretooth understands a lot more about life than Logan ever will, if you ask me. All the so-called "bad guys" do. The X-Geeks are delusional. Or maybe they've just never had to face the real world. The world where little kids do get killed by psychos and the fate of the world rests in the hands of corrupt politicians, not super-villains.  
  
Then, as far as I can tell by listening to them, in the next cell is Beast. He really shouldn't even be messing with the X-Men. He's a smart man, and Bosslady respects him. But he got involved anyway, despite the warnings he was sent. I wonder if he ever shared those overly melodramatic letters with the Bald Messiah. I doubt it.   
  
Next is Spyke, Evan Daniels. That boy is one of the dumbest people I have ever met. Considering I once worked at a monster truck rally, that's a real accomplishment. My bet is that his stupidity is why he's in here. I always thought it was stupid of Pietro to always challenge that one to prove his superiority, considering that a tree stump has more sense. I heard him the other day whining about wanting moo juice. I really, really hope that's a hallucinogenic alcoholic beverage and not a bizarre nickname for milk. If it is, that boy has some serious issues.  
  
The final person down here is Rogue. I can't muster up as much hate for her as everybody else down here. She doesn't even deserve to be here, unlike the rest of them. But nothing I can do about that. I'm in the same boat as all of them. I always wished Rogue hadn't gone to the X-Men. I understand why she had to, but still. I might talk to her, later on. Ask her what she thought of Magneto's new recruits. She always has colorful ways to describe people.   
  
Snap.  
  
What was that? Peering out the tiny window in the door, I saw a flash of light that briefly illuminated the stark, institutional walls of the hall. Footsteps filled the silence as a figure strolled down the hall, hips swaying seductively. What's Mystique doing down here? She wasn't supposed to show up for three weeks...  
  
I suddenly realized that I had been in this hole for three weeks. I stared out the tiny window in the adamantium-enforced door for a moment longer, then turned back to my tiny cell. Well, it probably wasn't as tiny to everybody else as it was to me, but that was beside the point. A cot was attatched to the wall on one side, a small sink/toilet occupied the other. There was no window breaking the monotony of the slate gray walls, the toilet and cot were both dull gray to match the thin army blanket and walls. All in all, it was designed to drive a normal person insane.   
  
And maybe it had driven me insane, if I'd been here three weeks and hadn't noticed the time pass. But now it doesn't matter. I'm getting out of here, thanks to Bosslady, and there is no way I'm gonna let them talk me into doing something like this again.  
  
There was a quiet clink as a key was inserted into the door of my cell. The key turned, and the heavy door swung open, allowing me to escape my prison.   
  
  
  
  
  
Please review! Tell me if you'd like to read more, because I have a really interesting idea, and some time to kill before I start college. Thanks!  
  
~Persephone 


	2. Chapter 2

Immovable Chapter 2  
  
Authors notes: First of all, I'd like to say a big Thank You! to everybody who reviewed:  
todd fan, Foxglove33, Trouble Maker, X-fan, me, and Darkfire! You're comments were muchly appreciated, and helped me write this chapter much more quickly than I had expected to! This chapter has a little more action than the last, and I certainly hope you enjoy it!   
  
**  
  
I stepped out of my cell, and was immediately greeted by Mystique's scowl. I could guess that things were not going as she had planned.   
  
"Come on." She sounded impatient already. I followed her down the hall, and then realized we were going in the opposite direction from the other's cells. "What about..."  
  
She cut me off with the wave of a blue hand. She shook her head, red locks swaying, and I understood. This was a single-inmate jailbreak. I followed Mystique through countless halls, all void of human life, or life of any kind, for that matter. I was starting to get convinced that Bosslady was lost, as confused by the countless, identical sterile hallways as I was, when she stopped. She motioned for me to be silent, and then she shifted into the form of a guard, and put a set of handcuffs on me.   
  
She pressed a button on the wall that blended in so well that I hadn't even noticed it, and said, "Prisoner transport. Clear for Exit."  
  
A tiny, fuzzy voice replied. "Approved. Password?"  
  
"Alpha 12 37 beta."  
  
"You're cleared for exit." With a quiet swoosh, a door slid open. I trailed along behind her as we entered a tiny room, barely big enough for the both of us. The room, actually, an elevator, lurched gently, and we began our ascent to the surface.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, the door swooshed back open, and we emerged in what looked like a hospital hallway. A scrubs-clad man went by pushing an empty gurney. Yep, definitely a hospital. We walked down the stark, sterile hallway, and emerged into the sunshine. I blinked, unused to brightness after so long in my gray prison cell. Mystique led me to a sleek black car, a Mercedes-Benz, I do believe, and we left the parking lot, and headed for...  
  
Somewhere.  
  
"This isn't the way to the boarding house." I said. In fact, we were heading the exact opposite direction, towards the ritzy part of town.   
  
"We've got a new house now." Mystique replied, gunning the engine and passing a sedan. She'd shifted back to her Raven Darkholme facade, and tossed me the key to the handcuffs.   
  
"Umm, why weren't there any guards in all those hallways?" I asked, rubbing my wrists. The handcuffs had been too small, but then again, what wasn't? I thought it was really too convenient how easy it was for Bosslady to spring me.   
  
"Because it was lunchtime. The guards were part of a union, apparently." Wow, she actually told me. I sat back, marveling at the sensation of being outside until we pulled up at a house. Wait, did I say house? I mean mansion. This place was swank, really. It looked like the kind of houses a Columbian drug lord would retire to.   
  
"Come on, quit your gawking." Mystique said, and lead me to the front door. As soon as we got inside, Todd hopped around the corner.  
  
"Yo, Freddy! My man, good to see ya!" Todd said enthusiastically, hopping up and down.  
  
"Good to see you too, little buddy." I replied. I've called Todd 'little buddy' ever since that time we watched a Gilligan's Island marathon and I noticed the parallels in our friendships. Of course, it didn't work to well for the rest of the 'hood. Pietro could pass as Thurston Howell III, I guess, he has the ego for it, and Rogue could have been Maryanne, she had the country-girl accent, too. I guess Tabitha was Ginger, even though she wasn't really part of the 'hood, but that leaves Lance as the Professor, which isn't really even close, and Wanda as Mrs. Howell, and that's just wrong. So, basically, Todd and I are the only ones who really fit the Gilligan's Island personas.   
  
"Todd, why don't you show Fred around, and to his room. I have business to attend to." Mystique said, and strolled off in the opposite direction. Todd led me to a stairway that put the X-Geek's to shame, and we headed up.   
  
"It's been really weird, man." Todd said as we reached the top. He led me to the right. "This whole thing's got everybody paranoid. Especially Wanda, but she was off her rocker to begin with. I mean, it was unexpected."  
  
"What was? I still don't know the whole story." I said. I only knew the basic parts, like the Professor's kidnapping.  
  
"This is your room, man. I'm across the hall. Lance is next to you, on the left." Todd paused, and shut the door. "Okay, I'll tell you what I know. Mystique never stopped working for Magneto. That whole disappearance thing was just a ploy to see how we would handle being left alone, and to give Mystique and Magneto time to find their new recruits."  
  
"Right." I said. The new recruits. That was an impressive bunch. Their powers were better than ours, and they had more training. The Aussie kid, the one who could control fire, was the least trained of all of them, and he was still twice as good as any of the 'hood. Except, of course, Wanda, but she was in a completely different league from the rest of us. The Russian guy, the one who was almost as big as I am, was an amazing fighter, and the Cajun was a professional thief, and had skills that made Houdini look like an amateur. Magneto even had Sabretooth working for him. Man, the X-Men are doomed.  
  
"So," Todd continued, "Once our little spy got the Prof outta the way, we did the whole join and betray thing to the X-men. Then, after the battle, Mystique told the X-Geeks that she'd replaced their Prof. She didn't even tell them how long she had been doing that, wither, just left them hanging. Then we, the 'hood, took off, and set up here, leaving them leaderless and homeless. Magneto got roughed up quite a bit in the fight, apparently Wanda went hard on him, and he's still in the infirmary."  
  
"We have an infirmary?"   
  
"Yep, just like the spoiled kids." Todd grinned. There was a knock at the door just then, and Lance stuck his head in the door. "Time for dinner. Bosslady said we all hafta show."  
  
"Okay." Me and Todd chorused, and Todd led the way to the dining room.  
  
  
  
  
Well, comments are the ambrosia and nectar for this goddess, so please don't let me starve!  
  
~Persephone 


	3. Chapter 3

Immovable Chapter 3  
  
Author's notes: Again, thank you to everybody who reviewed:  
todd fan (Twice! I feel special, thanks a million!), Foxglove33, Trouble Maker, X-fan, me, Darkfire (Your review inspired most of this chapter...Wanda's first reaction to working with Magneto.) and star of darkness!   
  
On with the story...  
  
  
***  
Todd led the way downstairs and through many expensively decorated rooms until we reached the dining room. A large table, surrounded by a dozen chairs, was the only pieces of furniture in the room.  
  
Wanda looked up from one side of the table and scowled. I guess she's still bitter. She was not happy when she found out that Mystique was still working for Magneto. That was a scary night.  
  
Mystique had vaguely mentioned something about her 'boss' while muttering about how she didn't know why she put up with us. I think that was the day that we had an awesome water gun fight in the house. You put jell-o mix in the water and it's like paintball. Very fun. Unfortunately, Mystique had gotten in the crossfire. That's when she began to rant and rave and mutter. Wanda passed by the room just as Mystique said something along the lines of, "Next time I get reassigned to here, I'm quitting!"  
  
Wanda stared into the room. "Reassigned?"  
  
Mystique looked up and said, "What?"  
  
"You said you were reassigned here. Who exactly reassigned you?" Wanda has nerve. Maybe it's the whole unbeatable-powers thing that gave the (supposedly) former looney the gall to question a sticky, raving Mystique.  
  
"No one." Mystique said guardedly then gave Wanda her best Shut-Up-Before-I-Dismember-You glare.  
  
"If it was a reassignment, then they'd already assigned you once." Wanda continued, unfazed by Mystique's glare. Things all around the living room began to shake at that point, a quick glance at Lance proved he wasn't responsible. "You're working for my father!" Wanda's voice edged on a shriek.  
  
Mystique motioned for Agatha to come in the room. I hadn't even noticed the old lady hovering around the door until that point. Agatha began to mutter some weird words, and the shaking stopped. Wanda seemed to freeze in place, not moving a muscle, but her eyes were still filled with rage.   
  
"Thank you, Agatha." Mystique said. "Wanda, Agatha has just paralyzed both your body and powers. Can I trust you to remain calm if she allows you movement?" She turned to Agatha. "Let her speak."  
  
Wanda managed a weak "Yes."  
  
"Okay. I will explain the...situation to you. Yes, I am still working for Magneto." Mystique started to pause when Wanda began to look like she was going to attack. "In fact, he arranged for your release, Wanda."  
  
Wanda looked confused. "Why?"   
  
"Lord knows." Mystique said with a sigh. "I suppose because you are very powerful, and we need that." She motioned towards me, Lance, Todd, and Pietro, who was cowering behind the couch. 'Do you think we could defeat Xavier with them?"  
  
"Hey!" We all said, but Mystique didn't seem to care.   
  
"Of course not. They're all imbeciles." Wanda said. "But I refuse to stay here, now that I know you're working for my father."  
  
"I don't believe that would be a wise decision." Mystique said smoothly.  
  
"What do you mean?" Wanda said. She was being amazingly calm. It was shocking.  
  
"I mean," Mystique began, "That you are not allowed to leave us. You will be immediately institutionalized if you attempt to leave."  
  
"What? You can't do that. I'm more powerful than all of you." Wanda said, now starting to show her rage.  
  
"Not at the moment, my dear. In fact, I believe Agatha shall leave the power-dampening spell on you until you reach the logical conclusion concerning your team associations." With that, Mystique left the room. Wanda still stood there, looking shocked.   
  
"I can't do anything." She said to us, and left the room.  
  
She was sullen and even angrier for a long time after that. Still is, if you want to get into it.  
  
Todd bumping into me startled me out of my reverie. "Sit down here." He said, motioning toward the seats across from Wanda. "These seats are mostly out of the line of fire."  
  
Lance showed up a minute later, and picked the seat across from me.   
  
"Hey, Freddy, how're you doing?" He asked me.  
  
"Pretty good, I guess. It sucked down there. And I'm starved!" I said as the food was brought out by...  
  
Magneto's new recruits?  
  
"What are they doing here?" I whispered to Todd.  
  
"They live here too." He whispered back.  
  
"And Pietro?" I asked.   
  
"Him, too. He's still a little banged up from the fight, but he's alright." Todd paused a second before speaking again. "He usually sits at the other end, with the new guys. Wanda isn't exactly thrilled at his presence, which is why we sit down here."  
  
Wait a minute. The 'hood was sitting with Wanda the Loon instead of our buddy Pietro? Something's wrong here. I started to ask Todd, but Lance shook his head at me, and mouthed, "Later." Okay. That's even weirder. But then the food was set on the table, and I decided later was a reasonable time to discuss things.  
  
Yum. Looks like we're having roast chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy, and corn on the cob, and green beans, and some kind of jambalaya. I guess the Cajun made that. I breathed in the delicious scents, then began to pile on the food. I haven't had a decent meal in three weeks, after all.   
  
The 'hood guys didn't react to my helping sizes, they were used to it, but the new guys were a different story. They began made fun of me, and I just ignored it, after all, I'm used to it. But then Lance's eyes went white, and the room began to shake threateningly.  
  
The new guys shut up immediately.  
  
I smiled gratefully at Lance, and dug in. I definitely have some of the best friends in the world.  
  
***  
Please tell me what you think! If you have any questions about anything, or something you'd like to see, ask away! Thanks for reading!  
  
~Persephone 


	4. Chapter 4

Immovable

  


Chapter 4

  


AN: Man, it's been a while. I'm very, very aware of that fact. I'm really sorry, too. And I'm gonna go ahead and warn you all:: I really don't think that this chapter is all that great. It's been so long since I wrote the first three chapters, I've kinda... lost the voice I had then. And this chapter is really short, for which I apologize. But, there is a reason. I'm really not sure where I want to take this. This has definitely become AU. So, any suggestions/questions/comments you all have will definitely influence where this fic will go. 

  


***

  


After dinner Lance made good on his promise to explain everything to me. He led me to the game room, and told me what had happened in my absence. Everything. From Pietro's betrayal to Mystique showing up and telling the Brotherhood they were moving to their discovery that Magneto was their new boss.

  


I was shocked. Pietro was in with the enemy? And _we _were in with the enemy? And the enemy was who we had been in with to begin with? I shook my head.

  


"Are you sure Pietro ratted us out to Magneto?" I asked. Lance nodded. I processed the concept. Pietro had betrayed us to his father. I guess blood does count for more than just friendship and loyalty, but that didn't explain why he hadn't included his twin sister. No wonder she was so upset. Though I do have to wonder about the wisdom of turning on the most unpredictable mutant in the house. 

  


Well, at least I think she is. I don't know anything about the other mutants, the new recruits. I asked Lance about it, and he gave me a brief description of them. A guy who blows stuff up, a fire handler, a metal guy.

  


They made the earthquake-maker, fat guy, frog boy, and crazy girl seem kinda pathetic, really. No wonder we were the backup replacements. With those three, plus Sabretooth and Mystique, Magneto had a rockin' team. We were the expendable ones in this bunch, for sure.

  


I'm not really sure where to put the fast boy in that equation. He was supposed to be part of us, after all, but if he's siding with them... I don't really want to put him in with _us_, the Brotherhood, anymore. He lost that right when he led us to battle knowing that some of us might not make it out. That some of us might be captured, and experimented on, and practically starved.

  


That I would be captured, and experimented on, and practically starved.

  


I don't care that I'm supposed to be one of them now too. I can't bring myself to really trust anyone who will allow me to be captured for that long. I want to shudder just thinking about that cell, and those long hungry days stuck there. I don't want to even remember that time. I would be happy if those long days and longer nights just no longer were even in my mind.

  


Maybe one of those telepaths, like the mind witch, would fix it for me. They can control our minds, no reason to think they can't go in and erase them too. 

  


The thought makes me shiver. I don't want to have a gaping hole in my mind. That would be like losing a part of my soul. I might not miss it at first, but eventually, its absence would drive me mad. Sure, there were bad, bad times down there in that cell. But I'll get past it. I always get past the bad times. I'm immovable, after all, and that should include my emotions. 

  


Lance was still talking, I realized. He was saying something about the X-Geek's mansion getting blown to kingdom come by Mystique. Wow. That is seriously awesome. I decide to interrupt him. "She got to blow it up?"

  


"Yeah," Lance said, grinning. "You should have seen their faces when they saw the burning rubble." 

  


I couldn't help but laugh. So the X-Men finally found out what it's like being left without a home. I wonder if it helped their overly pampered attitudes any, but I doubt that it did. They are just stupidly optimistic at times. Or, rather, all the time.

  


Todd came bouncing into the game room just them. 

  


"Hey, Freddy, you wanna play air hockey?" he asked. 

  


"Sure," I replied.

  


Lance stood up. "I've gotta split." 

  


"You don't want to play?" I asked, motioning towards the air hockey table. 

  


Lance shook his head. "I don't want to. You have fun though." 

  


He left the room, and me and Todd began to play. An hour later, my arm ached, I had been hit with the puck fourteen times, and we were deadlocked.

  


Neither one of us had scored against the other in ten minutes. The score was tied. I was tiring, but I knew Todd was too, by his lack of enthusiastic remarks regarding my mad skills. The puck slammed from one side of the table to the other, and clanked as we both expertly blocked it. 

  


Finally, I scored.

  


"YES!!" I bellowed triumphantly. 

  


Todd stuck his tongue out at me. I make a movement to go and pound him, in the friendliest way possible, of course, when I hear someone behind us.

  


We both turn, me with my fist still raised over Todd's head. Wanda stood there, scowling.

  


"Hi?" I said. She just looked at us. I glanced down at Todd, but he just shrugged.

  


Wanda finally sighed and spoke. "We need to talk."

  
  
  


***

  


Feedback is greatly appreciated! Questions, comments, and suggestions are definitely needed!!

  


~Persephone


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